Quiet time... for now.

[Vivian Nazarova]

[atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Vivian/H2/Viv12.png,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Vivian/Viv1_02.png][atrb=style,padding:0px 50px;background-position:top;background-repeat:no-repeat;]   It was a nice, cushy sort of evening at the Hogs Head. Or maybe it just felt that way because Vivian was reclining on one of the benches, feet up and using Scotty as a backrest. He didn’t seem to mind, and the warmth of his shoulder was rather comforting. Funny, she never would have figured herself as the huggy type, but Scotty always did have an interesting sort of effect on her.   Now that he was in seventh year, it seemed Hogwarts was determined to be astoundingly cruel to the poor lad, or at least in Vivian’s opinion. Christmas holidays or not, he still had work to do to hand in on the first day back (or else), and Vivian was trying to be as helpful as she could, given her ‘no magic ever’ position. She had taken to snatching his homework and writing him practise tests. Whether or not Scotty appreciated it she had no idea, but she guessed he tolerated it because it gave her something to occupy herself with during the long nights.   In many ways, she was likely living vicariously at Hogwarts through him by encouraging him to do well and helping him read every note twice. She missed the place more than she thought she would. She missed magic in general. She didn’t like thinking of her wand dusting up on a shelf in Abraham’s office...   Yakov, however, was determined to be a pest, everybody else be damned. He had quickly made the connection that schoolbooks were munchy and Vivian was convinced his brain had been transplanted with a parrot, owing to his tenancy to fly to the desk and try and chew corners of Scotty’s DADA Textbook or make off with his Astronomy essays. The barking owl was currently perched in the Christmas tree Ed had neglected to take down, and the way he was looking at Scotty’s homework meant trouble was imminent later in the night.   Vivian frowned and pulled some hair from her face to behind her ear. Scotty was doing more homework and Vivian was entertaining herself by reading some of the potions instructions Professor Snyder had given him. Potions were not Scotty’s strong point and Vivian thought she could see why. Surely she had to be looking at one of the most complicated instructions ever to grace the Earth! And he had to make it from memory?!   She put the sheet back down on the table Scotty was working on. Okay, there had to be something she could do to help turn Scotty’s ‘Poor’ into an ‘Outstanding’. Oooh, hang on...   “Ed!” she called suddenly, shuffling up to sit a bit straighter, her eyes wide like they usually did when she had an idea. “Do you sink ve’d be able to turn a corner of zeh basement into a potions lab for Scotty to practice?”   She tried to turn her head as far as possible to catch a glance at Scotty’s face to gauge his thoughts on the idea. “Vot do you sink? You might remember better if ve make it a few more times.”

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[Scotty Kovac]

What had he been thinking taking on seventh year? Why had he damned himself to this Hell? Oh that’s right, he had the dream of becoming an Auror and that meant going through Hell and back to get the marks needed. Scotty Kovac’s right hand ached and the novelty of the florescent colour changing quill he’d bought while in Croatia was fast wearing off.

His ears were filled with the scratching sound with quill made as it moved over the parchment and the chinking it made against his inkbottle every now and then. The boy glared at the copy of ‘Transfiugration the NEWT Level Student’s Guide’ by Finius Blotch and Hermione Weasley he was taking notes from and sighed. Everything was so complicated and would only get more so with a new term on the horizon.

Once the essay had been finished he handed the parchment over his shoulder to Vivian to check for mistakes. Spelling and grammar wasn’t exactly a strong point of his. Scott eyed Yakov who in turn eyed him back. There were still rips in his Care of Magical Creatures essay on the differences between Kelpies and Hippocampuses that needed mending before term started. One of the Kelpies the boy had taken the care to draw in great detail was missing its head thanks to the owl in the Christmas tree.

While he waited for Vivian to be done with his essay, Scott stretched and lay more comfortably against the girl. Stifling a yawn he leant the back if his head against the back of hers. He was almost half asleep when he heard the mention of potions. It was only eight o’clock in the evening, so the clock behind the bar said, but already Scotty had had enough of working. But he couldn’t complain, as Vivian kept telling him it was his fault he’d left it all until the last minute.

”Do I have to do potions?” he groaned as he stretched again. Although he didn’t show it just at that moment, he was grateful to the Russian girl for coming up with the idea. With her help he’d be sitting on an Outstanding in no time at all. Now it was all up to Ed whether he could get the practise in or not. "Oh please Ed, pretty please," the boy looked at the Australian barkeep with the best puppy dog eyes he could muster.

[Edward Johns]

Thankfully the business was slow to practically non-existent tonight, Thursdays never really saw many customers in. That meant if gave Edward plenty of leeway to keep an eye on Scotty and Vivian. There was definitely something going on there but hadn’t heard it confirmed as of yet, something to ask Viv later. It wasn’t that he minded or anything but for some reason he felt protective of Viv and he knew all too well getting hurt sucked. It was the last thing he wanted to see happen to her. Lazily the Australian scrubbed at two glass mugs before filling one with butterbeer and the other with a red, metallic smelling liquid.

”Here, this will help or put you to sleep,” the man chuckled, handing Scott the warm mug of orange liquid which he accepted gratefully. He then handed Viv the mug of blood with a smile before returning back to the bar. There Rowdy was waiting for him, his tail wagging completely out of control. Ed looked the puppy over for a minute, he had hardly grown at all in the last few months that the man was beginning to suspect an anti-ageing charm. Just one more thing for Adrian Connery to look over when he got back from Ireland, which was where the school had told Ed the man was after he’d inquired after him.

He gave the dog a rough pat on the head before glancing at the stairs. Ed’s mind wandered to Cassie, and how she was feeling. He didn’t know, she wasn’t exactly the most sharing of people. Before he could think too much about her he was distracted with thoughts of his basement being destroyed. ”Uhhh...” did he really want Vivian and Scotty to turn his basement into a potions lab? Well it was better than them doing in the main area. ”What’s your potions ability like Scott?” the answer was poor which did not reassure Ed in the slightest.

”Fine, keep an eye on him Viv, I don’t want him destroying my pub,” he said seriously but a wink at the end told the two of them he was only joking around. With a laugh he put down his dishrag and sat himself opposite Scotty. Out of curiosity the man began to leaf through ‘Defence Against the Dark Arts Through the Ages’ by Harry Potter, peering interestedly at some of the counter curses mentioned throughout the book.

[Vivian Nazarova]

[atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Vivian/H2/Viv12.png,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Vivian/Viv1_02.png][atrb=style,padding:0px 50px;background-position:top;background-repeat:no-repeat;]   Hah, victory!   “Don’t vorry, I’ll stop him exploding anysing,” she laughed.   Right... Professor Grey and Professor Connery had brought all her old school stuff to her room in the Hogs Head didn’t they? In that case her old cauldron was possibly still lying around she had money spare for potions ingredients when she ran out. Thankfully potions was rather a non-magic-user-friendly subject, and she had Scotty to help her for the inevitable part where spellwork would be required.   “Sankyou!” Vivian picked up the mug of blood happily, careful not to spill it. Blood was annoyingly messy like that. There was the light chemical taste of anticoagulant in it not present in regular blood but she was starting to adapt to the taste. She wondered if there was a way to flavour it. She was seriously starting to miss the taste of eggs, chicken and all that good stuff. There was only so much entertainment to be garnered from the standard ABO blood groupings. This particular flavour was rather weak. Probably an O.   “How long vould it take you to run up Hogvorts and get everysing?” she asked Scotty, snuggling up closer. It was nice being close to someone warm. Bodyheat; yet anothing thing she was no longer taking for granted.

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[Scotty Kovac]

It didn’t take long before the realisation dawned on Scotty that Ed and Viv were having a laugh at his expense... hey! ”I’m not that bad at potions,” the boy grumbled before cheering up almost immediately when offered butterbeer. The liquid was warm and comforting as it slid down his throat but, like Ed had said, it was making him feel even sleepier. He turned himself around on the bench so that Vivian was leaning against his chest. Looking at the mug of blood in her hand the boy smiled. It had taken him awhile to get used the idea that his girlfriend was a vampire now but in the end it hadn’t mattered to him. It was still the same Vivian who could only drink blood now.

He put his arms around her in a loose hug and rested his head on her shoulder. It looked like he would be doing potions tonight. He glanced sourly at Ed, a pout on his face. The boy had been hoping the barkeep would say no and that would be the end of it, they were both conspiring against him. Yes, trying to get him better marks was a conspiracy in his eyes. ”Bleh potions, I suck at potions,” he whined, trying to convince the Australian the last thing he wanted to be doing was letting Scotty loose with magical ingredients. But in the end it looked like he’d lost his case well and truly.

”Fine,” he surrendered, packing his work into his leather satchel bag, which hooted indignantly as the ink bottle woke the miniature owl that had been asleep in there. ”Uhhh about half an hour,” Scotty answered, already planning his route back to the castle and to the dungeons. ”Do you want to come with me? There’s no one about the castle except me and Ame and the teachers,” the boy asked offhandedly as he placed Corday the Pygmy Owl onto the table.

[Vivian Nazarova]

[atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Vivian/H2/Viv12.png,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Vivian/Viv1_02.png][atrb=style,padding:0px 50px;background-position:top;background-repeat:no-repeat;]   ”Do you want to come with me?”   Vivian stiffened. Drat. And she had been so comfortable all nice and relaxed up against Scotty too until that moment. It wasn’t his fault. She very much appreciated him asking her along as a courtesy, but she didn’t think she was ready to walk back around Hogwarts yet. No, the risk of being spotted by anyone was far too great and if anyone confronted her she was most likely to panic and stand there gaping like a fish.   “I sink... ve could save time if I looked for my stuff too vile you vent,” she proposed, resting one arm comfortably on Scotty’s. As a rule Vivian was quite talented at tidying, until you asked her to look after her own belongings. So, even thought she left the bar spotless for Ed in the morning, her room was a bit like navigating a minefield. In the half an hour it took Scotty to get to the school and back she’d still be rummaging through junk in an attempt to find where her pouch of beetle’s eyes had ended up.   ... She thought she might have shoved the cauldron in her closet to hold her shoes. It was kinda hard to tell.

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[Scotty Kovac]

Scotty sidled himself up closer to Vivian, the warmth he would have usually expected wasn’t there but it was something he was used to. Absentmindedly he stroked Corday across her wings; her soft feathers tickled his fingers as they went. Waiting patiently for Vivian’s answer he could already feel her tense up against him. Scotty couldn’t really blame her; it had been a pretty insensitive question and one he suddenly wished he’d never asked.

”Okay, well I guess I’ll see you in about half an hour then,” the boy sighed happily but didn’t move off straight away. He was happy where he was, leaning up against his girlfriend in the warm pub. Through the windows he could see a thick sheet of rain still falling steadily. Instead of snow to walk back to school in, there would be a road made of 3ft deep mud. ”Right, I should go now otherwise I never will,” Scotty said resolutely, pushing himself up off the stool as he did so.

Quickly he gathered up the finished essays, waterproofed them and stuffed them into his over-full leather satchel. He left Corday where she was, the pygmy owl was happy preening herself and eyeing up Yakov on the Christmas tree from the table. Once Scotty was satisfied he had everything he needed to return to the school, he planted a soft kiss on one of Vivian’s cheeks and rushed out the door, into the pouring rain and back to Hogwarts.

[Vivian Nazarova]

[atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Vivian/H2/Viv12.png,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Vivian/Viv1_02.png][atrb=style,padding:0px 50px;background-position:top;background-repeat:no-repeat;]   “Okay,” Vivian replied to Scotty. She subconsciously found herself following his gaze out the window towards the rain. Oh damn. That wasn’t good. She didn’t exactly want Scotty wandering around the dark and soaking wet either. She bit her lip thoughtfully and lightly frowned. Bugger, there was a spell for that and it was right on the tip of her tongue!   She was shaken from her thoughts when Scotty finally moved. Following his example, Vivian got to her feet and managed to catch his arm in order to pull him into a hug before he got away. “Hurry back,” she ordered lightly at his back and ignoring the twang of worry starting to poke her. After all, this one time when she’d been out in the dark alone at Hogsmeade she’d been, well, murdered.   OH! That was it! “Try Impervius on your jacket!” Vivian shouted loudly with one hand cupped to her mouth just as Scotty disappeared through the door. It shut behind him with a click.   Okay, well, hopefully he heard.   Right. Potions stuff.   Vivian quickly rushed towards Ed and gave him a quick friendly hug too by way of thanks then made her way to the stairs, mentally cataloguing what potions ingredients she had left as she did so. “Don’t vorry about us,” she chirruped at the top, then disappeared from view as she entered the hallway. Tackling her room was going to be a nightmare.

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[Silas Rosier]

[atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Silas/Scripts/sigpostscript_bg.png,true][atrb=valign,top]	[rs=2][bg=ffffff][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Silas/Scripts/sigpostscript_mainbg.png][atrb=style,background-position:top;background-repeat:no-repeat;]   Vivian had only just disappeared happily from the top of the staircase when Ed’s momentary peace and quiet was ruined. Again. By– well, really, who else would it be? Hell, Silas had almost gone and made it his full time job to ruin any peace Edward ever had from the moment they had both met.   “Johns!” Silas suddenly barked from somewhere behind the bartender. As usual he’d Apparated straight into the pub without warning as was now striding closer to Edward, wand drawn threateningly and expression aggravated. The use of Ed’s surname was probably evidence enough that Silas was far from peachy at the moment.   “Where’s the changeling?” he demanded roughly, then paused and seemed to change his mind. His gaze turned away from Edward and began staring at the top of the staircase, his eyes narrowed slightly. The girl lived up there now, a fact he’d gathered at some point over the course of the last month. He could always just go up there and look for her himself. After all, he certainly believed his own eyes far more than Ed’s word. If the girl was indeed guilty of what he suspected she wouldn’t be there, and if she was, he could then question her himself. Tempting.	[atrb=valign,top]
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[Edward Johns]

Smiling at the way the two teenagers were so happy in each other’s company, Edward busied himself with tidying up behind the bar. Rowdy bounced along happily trying to help, although he tried, the ever growing puppy only succeeded in creating more mess. The Australian shooed the black Labrador out from behind the bar just Scotty left back to school and Vivian trudged up the stairs. Barking joyously the dog bounded up the stairs after his vampire friend leaving Ed alone in the main bar.

In the middle of stacking chairs on tables in a far corner of the pub Ed missed Silas’ arrival but he heard his last name alright. That was odd, Silas never used his last name, and sometimes the Australian doubted he even knew it. The way the strip club owner had said it too didn’t sound good. What the hell had he done now? ”What do you want?” Ed asked gruffly but the question was soon proved to be in vain.

”None of your fucking business is where,” the man answered, feeling anger wash over him like a wave of warm water. Whatever Silas wanted with Vivian, Edward didn’t care. There was no way in Hell he would allow the other man near the young vampire. His eyes followed Silas’ gaze to the stairs and his heart leapt. Vivian was up there rummaging through her closet; he had to get between Silas and the stairs. He had to apparate but he hated it and hadn’t done it in ages. But then again the feeling of Vivian being in danger overturned his hatred of apparating and, with a loud crack; Ed appeared at the foot of the stairs. He raised his wand, wishing he had his shotgun instead.